Lucy I can reassure you that he was keen on a gtg with you. The man was very frail and he did break 2 ribs the day before our gtg.

I am so sorry to hear this. I always enjoyed his posts.

I have been thinking about Dogster and wondering why there hadn't been any recent posts. When I'd see a "comment removed" on this forum, I'd wonder if it was something from the Dogster. when I first started reading this forum, he quite intimidated me. But then he proved to be so generously helpful when we were planning our '10 India trip . He seemed to be a study in contradictions with his oh so harsh comments and the many more warm, helpful, humanistic ones. His spirit infused this forum for so long. What very sad news.

lcuy, I recently told my husband about him as well! He was very involved during our initial India planning and for sure I will be thinking about him during our trip.

Would love to see an unabridged collection of his deleted posts - I think he had the all-time record.

Such a shock to see this. I hadn't realized he was so ill, although I had missed seeing him here. He was always worth reading, and sometimes worth following. I found out who he was very early, but you didn't need to know that to appreciate his posts here. So sad.

I hope / believe that Fodorites, and scanners of Fodor's boards, will continue to benefit from dogster's comments for years to come. How generously he shared his observations!

RIP, dogster.

aloha pook, if its not too much trouble, i would appreciate those pics. pls send them to my email, if possible. i too, took some pics, but it seems to be lost in the bowels of my photo file. i will look for them, and forward same to you. mahalo.

Ken - email sent.

Oh no, this is sad news indeed. A part of me still hopes that we'll see some entertaining new journey notes from the dog soon. Great traveller, great writer, he'll be missed. RIP dogster.

Happy trails, Dogster, you'll be missed.

His "attendance" at the Boston GTG a few years ago was remarkable.

Oh no. I was wondering why he hasn't posted. Sassafrass, a poster on the cruise forum and I met him last yr. on the Celebrity Constellation and I was charmed by this remarkable man. He was very talented in his filed, produced a number of plays and BTW designed the opening ceremony for the Sydney Olympics. I was sure hoping to meet him on a cruise or on land one day. So, so sorry and sad to hear this.

Yet another one who is very sorry to hear about Dogster. Whilst he has entertained and informed me for so long on this forum I had no idea about his theatrical side. To know that he designed the set for Top Dogs which I would go back to see in a heartbeat shows a whole new side to him.

I'm so sorry to hear this news also and enjoyed his posts and humor so much. I once was in Siem Reap at the same time as he and always was on the lookout for a man that I imagined would be him. He made me laugh and appreciate even more the human condition and brought India, and everyplace else he travelled, completely to life. He will be missed...

Well I have to tell you moremiles how I 1st saw him. It was sort of like that. We found out we would be on the same cruise together and I asked him what he looked liked as he never posted apic of himself. He said 'imagine Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones after and hard night drinking." :D Well the 1st night on the Connie I saw a man who sort of looked like that :-) standing by the elevator. My wife and I walked over that way and I mentioned to her about hitting the martini bar. You see I had told Nigel I never ever had a martini b4 so we agreed to have one together. Well right away he knew it was me so off we went. We talked for more than an hr. like old friends. My wife dubbed him 'hotdog" and as you can imagine the name fit him.

We booked the Equinox later and he mentioned about it being on his "bucket list" and I was hoping he might join us there this fall. Well I will surely hit the martini bar and have one dedicated to him. Happy trails Nigel!!

Thanks for sharing that story jacketwatch. Here's another quote from his correspondence that you all might enjoy and no I don't know what he meant by what he wrote - <i> "I'm the only voluptous sex goddess on Fodor's."

That is truly sad news. How strange that I came to the Fodors Asia forum yesterday for the first time in two years, as we are finally financially able to plan trips to Japan, China and Hong Kong. And I found myself looking at Dogster's blog last night for the first time, remembering how his raw, wonderfully written reports engaged my imagination beyond anything else I have ever read here. And now this news. I shed a tear for a man I have never met and say thank you, Dogster, for sharing a piece of yourself with us. R.I.P. Dogster.

Yes, thanks for sharing that story jacketwatch. Just goes to show you the power of the written word that we can feel so strongly about someone we've never met. Reminds me of when John Lennon died.

So sad.

WOW. Who knew Dogster was such an accomplished theatrical personality? I will miss his wit, humor and helpful travel advice. And it appears that Australia will miss his creative talent. RIP, dogster.

One thought. 62 seems awfully young to check out (especially since I'm older), but he packed so much into those 62 years.